GCMD completes trialling two supply chains of biofuel

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) announced it has completed trialling two supply chains of biofuel blends sourced from different origins.

These trials were done between 31 October 2022 and 15 February 2023 across five vessels, with approximately 4,700t of sustainable biofuel blends bunkered.

The biofuels were traced from where they were produced outside Singapore to the city-state where the fuels were blended and bunkered, with laboratory testing continuing until they were consumed on vessels.

One biofuel blend consisted of 24%  used cooking oil methyl ester (Ucome) and 76% very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), or B24, while the other was a blend of 20pc Ucome and 80% high-sulphur fuel oil, or B20.

Chevron in the first supply chain provided B24 to two vessels owned by French container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM and Japanese shipping firm Mol. Chevron also bunkered B20 for two of its own vessels. TotalEnergies Marine Fuels provided B24 to an NYK-owned vessel in the second supply chain.

GCMD brought together marine fuel purchasers and suppliers to balance the needs of all stakeholders, vessel schedules, equipment and asset availability. It also co-ordinated with surveyors, tracer technology and laboratory test providers to enable end-to-end tracing of the biofuels.

These two completed trials are two of the five supply chains that are part of a full pilot announced in July 2022, involving 19 industry partners, with 13 vessels encompassing the container, tanker and bulker segments bunkering in Singapore and the Netherlands’ Rotterdam. The trials ultimately aim to develop a framework to provide transparency and bolster the integrity of the biofuels supply chain, leading to wider adoption.

Biofuel bunker blends are one of many alternative marine fuels that can help the shipping industry to meet decarbonisation goals, with others being methanol, ammonia, LNG and hydrogen.

Argus launched a B24 price assessment on 31 January, based on market information obtained from a variety of industry participants. A total of 140,000t of biofuel bunkers were sold in Singapore in 2022.